Areobindus Diptych
Type:
Diptychs
Date:
506
Location or Findspot (Modern-Day Country):
Turkey
Medium:
Ivory
Dimensions:
36.2 × 24.6 × 1.1 cm
Description:
Consular diptychs are hinged ivory panels with relief carving on the outside and a smooth surface on the inside. The inside was filled with wax, which would be inscribed with an invitation to the event depicted on the other side: the inauguration of a consul, a high-level Roman official, celebrated with games or combats at his expense. Diptychs were the consul's gifts for important guests, and the spectacles in the amphitheater were his gifts to the masses.
This diptych now in Zurich commemorates the elevation of Areobindus as consul in Constantinople on January 1, 506. Areobindus (d. 512) is seated on a folding chair decorated with lions' heads and paws. He is flanked by smaller attendants and personifications of victory. In his left hand is an elaborate scepter; in his right he raises the napkin (mappa) that, when thrown, signals the start of the fights and games below. Schematic heads of spectators observe the action in the curved amphitheater; it was the consul's duty to provide a week's worth of entertainment. Remarkably, ten panels from seven different consular diptychs of Areobindus survive.
As currently displayed, the front of the diptych is on the left and the less well preserved back on the right. A Latin inscription runs across both panels. Heavily abbreviated, it says, "Fl(avius) Areob(indus) Dagal(aifus) Areobindus v(ir) i(llustris) / ex c(omite) sac(ri) sta(buli) et m(agister) m(ilitum) p(er) Or(ientem) ex c(onsule) c(onsul) or(dinarius)" (Flavius Areobindus Dagalaifus Areobindus, the illustrious man, former count of the sacred stables and master of the army of the orient [i.e., the eastern part of the Roman Empire], former consul, ordinary consul). A member of a distinguished and wealthy Roman family, Areobindus was married to Anicia Juliana, an important patron of art and architecture in early sixth-century Constantinople.
This diptych now in Zurich commemorates the elevation of Areobindus as consul in Constantinople on January 1, 506. Areobindus (d. 512) is seated on a folding chair decorated with lions' heads and paws. He is flanked by smaller attendants and personifications of victory. In his left hand is an elaborate scepter; in his right he raises the napkin (mappa) that, when thrown, signals the start of the fights and games below. Schematic heads of spectators observe the action in the curved amphitheater; it was the consul's duty to provide a week's worth of entertainment. Remarkably, ten panels from seven different consular diptychs of Areobindus survive.
As currently displayed, the front of the diptych is on the left and the less well preserved back on the right. A Latin inscription runs across both panels. Heavily abbreviated, it says, "Fl(avius) Areob(indus) Dagal(aifus) Areobindus v(ir) i(llustris) / ex c(omite) sac(ri) sta(buli) et m(agister) m(ilitum) p(er) Or(ientem) ex c(onsule) c(onsul) or(dinarius)" (Flavius Areobindus Dagalaifus Areobindus, the illustrious man, former count of the sacred stables and master of the army of the orient [i.e., the eastern part of the Roman Empire], former consul, ordinary consul). A member of a distinguished and wealthy Roman family, Areobindus was married to Anicia Juliana, an important patron of art and architecture in early sixth-century Constantinople.
Relevant Textbook Chapter(s):
3
Repository and Online Resources:
The diptych is in the Landesmuseum, Zurich, inv. no.
A-3564.a–b.
Image Credits:
Linda Safran
